Family Fun With Caledonian Travel

 AD

We were invited on a Family Fun weekend break with Caledonian Travel and we had the best weekend! We did the Cadbury and the Safari break and it was the most stress free weekend trip ever as everything was taking care of for us.

The trip included coach travel with reserved seating throughout, admission to Cadbury World, overnight accommodation at the Holiday Inn Express including evening meal and breakfast plus admission to West Midlands Safari Park - including a safari drive through experience.  

Caledonian Travel 

Caledonian Travel is the UK's leading provider of short breaks and holidays by coach who have been operating for over 30 years. They depart from Scotland, the North East and Yorkshire and have a huge range of different breaks available from day trips, weekend breaks and oversea holidays. 

They pride themselves on offering great value breaks that you can book with just a low deposit - perfect for families. They have a great reputation and after going on a break myself I can see why. 

Family Fun Break 

We went on a family fun break to Cadbury World and West Midlands Safari Park, the coach picked us up in Newcastle on Saturday morning and dropped us back off on Sunday evening. As we were travelling down to the midlands for our trip the pick up was early at 6.50am. We were the first pick up in Newcastle (Opposite Central Station) but there is also pick up points in Gateshead, Sunderland, Stockton, Middlesbrough and Darlington.

The coach was clean, comfortable and modern and we had two drivers who were both really friendly and helpful and kept us informed throughout the trip. Travelling down to the midlands was fine and we stopped off at a service station in Leeds for half an hour to use the restroom and grab a hot drink. 

Cadbury World 

We arrived at Cadbury World at around 1pm. the coach drops you off right outside and you are handed tickets for your entry. There was a cafe where we took the kids for lunch before starting the tour. 

Even though you are part of a coach trip you are free to explore Cadbury World in your own time, you are dropped off and told when to meet back at the bus. On entering Cadbury World you are each given four bars of chocolate - much to the kids delight. You can buy little bags to keep them in for £1. 

You then make your way around learning about the history of chocolate and Cadbury's as you go. There is a few interactive bits for the children to get involved with - highlights for my two were drawing with melted chocolate. 

There is a green screen area where you can buy photos and a little cocoa bean ride which was cute. We were given more samples as we walked around the chocolate factory.  

There was a big play park and a 4D ride, which we didn't get to go on as the queue was just too long as we visited during half-term so it was very busy. There is also a Cadbury's shop where you can buy discounted Cadburys products, we ended up spending £30 but came away with tons of chocolates and sweets. 

We spent about three to four hours at Cadbury World which was long enough, it was good but there was construction work going on so we didn't get to see everything. The kids really enjoyed it, after all it is not every day you get to visit a chocolate factory and get free chocolate bars.  

Hotel 

The coach collected us from right outside Cadbury World and took us to the hotel which was the Holiday Inn Express Walsall which was a short drive away. This was so stress free we literally got off the coach and give are name to reception who had all the key cards ready and waiting for us. We were staying in a family room which had a double bed and double sofa bed for the kids. 

The room was clean and comfortable and evening meal was included in our stay which consisted of three courses. A soup for starter, then a choice of curry or a  pasta dish for main and they had nuggets for children plus a choice of cakes for pudding. There was a bar at the hotel but we were all tired and ended up chilling in the room before having a early night as we were all shattered. 

We were up bright and early the next day and breakfast was really good and served buffet style. It included typical things like bacon, sausage, beans, scrambled eggs there was fruit, toast, cereal and croissants, hot drinks and fruit juices. 

West Midlands Safari Park

We were back on the coach for 9am ready to head off to West Midlands Safari Park for the day. We arrived for opening and after a quick toilet stop the coach drove us through the safari and this was amazing! We were one of the first vehicle to enter the drive thru and the drivers were so knowledgeable pointing things out and making sure everyone got good views of the animals. 

The safari drive thru was probably one of the highlights of the whole trip as we had great views from the coach and seen way more animals then we expected. Lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes and rhinos to name just a few of the animals we seen.

The drive thru lasted over an hour then we were given tickets to enter the park itself and were free to explore the park. We seen penguins and my daughter was so happy that she got to see the red pandas. 

There was a dinosaur area to explore and a Ice age area, reptile houses and a bird house - this was another highlight. You can just walk through the bird house or you can pay £1.50 for nectar to feed them which we did and the children had so many birds flock on them - we got some amazing photos. 

There is also a fairground, this costs an extra £12 per person for a wristband if you want to go on the rides. We just got wristbands for the children to go on the rides as at 9 and 10 they are old enough to go by themselves and you can still walk around the fair and watch them if you don't have a wristband. The kids loved the fair and spent a couple of hours having fun on the rides. 

There was lots of food and drink stalls dotted around the park where we stopped for lunch. There was lots of gift shops too where the children got a cuddly toy (or two) each. Then it was time to head back to the coach and head home. 

Heading Home 

Once again the coach picked us up from right outside the safari park and we headed home. The one thing I really liked was that we had reserved seating throughout so we always sat in the same seats and could leave bags and coats on the bus when we stopped off places (obviously taking any valuables with us). 

We stopped off at services on the way home so we could use the rest room and grab something for the kids tea. As we were the first pick up we were obviously the last drop off so we arrived back in Newcastle at around 8pm on the Sunday evening. 

What We Thought

We honestly could not believe how stress free the whole trip was as everything was taking care of for us. When we arrived for the coach on the Saturday there was Caledonian staff at the bus stop making sure people got on the correct coaches (there was a lot departing to different destinations), the drivers Eric and Grant (I hope I have the names right) were really friendly and helpful throughout the whole trip and explained everything to us. The coach dropped us off and picked us up from right outside both attractions and the hotel. We were handed tickets as we got off the coach each day for the attractions and the check in at the hotel was so quick and easy. Everything just ran like clockwork and was sorted for us we literally just had to turn up at the time stated and enjoy ourselves. 

Everything was included in the price of the stay too all we had to pay extra for was lunch on both days and drinks. We did spend money at the Cadbury shop and safari gift shops and we did buy wristbands for the rides and food for the birds but they were optional. 

The Caledonian Break we went on is really good value too as it was £129 per person but that incudes admission to Cadbury world and West Midlands safari Park, coach travel, hotel, evening meal and breakfast. It definitely worked out cheaper than booking it and sorting it all ourselves. 

It was the first time we have ever been on a coach trip and it exceeded our expectations. We would book another one. I would definitely recommend a Caledonian Travel Family Fun break they are great value, stress free and most of all good fun for the whole family. 

Family Fun Breaks for next year are on sale now and can be booked with just a low deposit per person. There are so many great breaks to choose from too with breaks to Alton Towers, Chester Zoo, Legoland and Harry Potter Studio Tour  and of course Cadbury World and West Midlands Safari Park to name just a few. 

To find out more and to book visit www.caledonian.com/family-fun 

We made a little YouTube video of the trip that I have linked below, if you head over to my TikTok or Instagram pages (Newcastle Family Life) you can also see more videos and photos of the trip. 

SHARE:

Staycation